Thursday, October 20, 2011

10/20/2011
A dangerous precedent has
been set by the majority of the Supreme Court (SC) when it ruled to
uphold the President’s right to appoint officers in charge (OICs) for
all elective posts in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, as well
as Congress’ right to postpone the ARMM elections and synchronize them
with the general elections in 2013.

It is a dangerous precedent
because at any time then in the future, the Philippine Congress, which
is nothing but a forever rubber stamp of the Malacañang tenant, will
always toe the line of the president and postpone any ARMM or Barangay
and other elections in order for the President to appoint the OICs of
his choice, on the basis of claims to initiate reforms.

What
happens in a future time, with another president in Malacañang, who also
wants the elected ARMM officials replaced with his appointees?.... MORE

10/20/2011
Well, well, well. It looks
like these holier than thous now in Noynoy’s Cabinet and still sporting a
hypocritical halo, were also into dipping their fingers into the public
money jar to also finance the 2004 presidential campaign of their once
idol, Gloria Arroyo.

But what hypocrites they are, considering the
fact that they too, were in league with the election cheats in 2004 to
make Gloria win the presidency, yet made it out as though they were
outraged by the poll cheating in 2004, a year after, when all along they
were part of the cheating machine.

A witness, who was an officer
under Gloria’s presidential adviser on the peace process, Teresita
“Ging” Deles, bared that government funds were tapped for such
activities, as Deles had provided the logistics for the Office of the
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPPAP)’s part of the
campaign, complete with hiring Muslim movie actor Robin Padilla to get
the Muslim vote for her then idol..... MORE

10/20/2011
SYDNEY — Australia’s
republican movement has long argued it is a matter of when, not if, the
royals will be ditched, but on the eve of Queen Elizabeth II’s latest
visit enthusiasm for severing ties is ebbing.

The former British
penal colony voted against becoming a republic in a 1999 referendum and
republicanism has seen its fortunes decline since.

As the queen
prepares to make her 16th trip Down Under this week, few are expecting
any protests on what could be her farewell tour of the country.

National
chairman of the Australian Monarchists League Philip Benwell said
people had great respect for the queen regardless of their political
opinions.... MORE

10/20/2011
Amid the questionable surveys
by polling firms showing President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino enjoying a
remarkable trust and satisfaction rating, thousands of peasants
yesterday trooped to the streets all over the country in a series of
protest actions to express their strong opposition to Noynoy’s
pro-landlord administration.

In Southern Tagalog, around 2,000
peasants crashed the gates of Batangas Pier and symbolically padlocked
its gates to show utter dismay to the continued land conversion which
has been abused by bug landholders to escape agrarian reform.

In
Manila, a few more thousand farmers marched to Mendiola and launched
their own version of Occupy Wall Street by laying siege, for the next
three days the historical bridge leading to Malacañang..... MORE

10/20/2011
First, it was “Horse Power”
as some kind of a measure of the pulling strength of an animal. Then it
became “Fire Power” with reference to the destructive force of
implements of war. Thereafter, there came to fore the famous “People
Power” as an empirical proof of the sovereignty of citizens over their
government leaders. Now, it is “Nuclear Power” that is the talk of the
town — especially so after the devastating Japan experience.

In
other words, the need for power, the demand for energy, the need of fuel
all rightful and serious preoccupations of a country — especially so
when the imperative of socio-economic development becomes a big concern.
This is simply because in more ways than one, one kind of power or
another is directly or indirectly necessary for the alleviation of
poverty. The building of infrastructure, the promotion of industries,
the production of common human necessities — all the these and more,
require power..... MORE

The government remains blind to everything except the money that it
gets from the mining firms – but this money is tainted with our blood;
and no amount of money can ever compensate for the loss of our slain
tribal leaders who fought for our rights to our own lands.”

MANILA – In the immediate aftermath of President Benigno Aquino III’s
decision to support the call of the military to deploy paramilitary
groups in mining areas, leaders and members of indigenous groups have
sounded the alarm over the worsening militarization in their
communities.

Last October 11, six leading members of the indigenous people’s
organization Linundigan in Agusan del Sur went into hiding after feeling
extremely threatened by members of paramilitary forces. The six
individuals said they have strong reasons to believe that their lives
are in danger and that they are targets of a possible attack by the
paramilitary group Salakawan (“enforcer of all laws” in the local
dialect). Their group has chapters in the villages of Sinakongan,
Agsabo, Kinamaybay, Bakingking, Maasin and San Jose, all within the
municipality of Esperanza in Agusan del Sur.

Earlier in August, some 23 other individuals from the area,
including their families, were also forced to go into hiding because of
threats from the paramilitary group.

According to Linundigan, its officials and members are being targeted by Salakawan.

Only last June 30, the group’s director Arpe Belayong and his nephew
Solte San-ogan, a 21-year old deaf mute, were killed by elements of
Salakawan. Belayong was reportedly killed because of his refusal to
sign a document on ancestral domain. His signature was needed so loggers
could start operations within their ancestral domain.

Belayong’s children, Michelle Belayong, 14, and Adeb Belayong, four
years old, were also injured in the attack, sustaining gunshot wounds
in the back. Belayong’s widow Maysee and her children were forced to
leave their former home. In a report by human rights group Karapatan,
the Salakawan members involved in the attack were armed with a garand
M1, M14 and carbine rifles. Seen among them was a man known to be a
member of the security detail of Mayor Nida Manpatilan, wife of former
Mayor Deo Manpatilan..... MORE

Labor Undersecretary Lourdes Transmonte said the DOLE cannot file a
case against Keppel even if its investigation showed that it is liable
for the accident.Related Story: Govt policies blamed for ‘accidents waiting to happen’ in workplacesBy MARYA SALAMATBulatlat.com
MANILA – There had been the usual “toolbox meeting” in Keppel Subic
Shipyard on the morning of Oct 7, before some 230 workers proceeded to
continue work on the repair and anti-pirate retrofitting of a 22,650-ton
cargo container ship called MV Tombarra.

It is just one ship to work on, and Keppel Subic Shipyard has on
average a 1,300 Filipino workforce, according to Keppel Subic Shipyard
president Mok Kim Whang. More than two-thirds of these workers are
contractual, based on the presentation of the Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE).
There had also been a health and safety inspection of Keppel Subic
Shipyard last August, according to PEZA in Subic. The findings had been
okay, it said.

Keppel and Hanjin are two of the big-ticket shipbuilding and repair
investors that took over the facilities in Subic, Zambales after these
were converted from being US military bases before. It involved
billion-dollar investments and employs thousands of workers. But it has
also repeatedly featured in accidents that resulted in deaths and
injuries to its workers.

From the investigations of the Metal Workers’ Alliance of the
Philippines (MWAP), Institute for Occupational Health and Safety
(IOHSAD), Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) and Ecumenical
Institute for Labor Education and Research (EILER), here is what
happened on Oct 7:
- The workers were repairing a ramp used by the cargo ship to load
and unload cars. (Ramp weighed 166.4 tons according to Zambales police
report, 250 tons according to the workers and witnesses interviewed by
MWAP.)

- The said ramp was held in place by steel cables more than an inch
in diameter and tied to a part of the ship, which was dry-docked while
being repaired; the ramp is several stories high from the ground where
other workers were busy. On the other end of the ramp, only one steel
post was supporting it.

- The steel cables supporting the ramp from one end snapped,
resulting in what sounded like an explosion. But the single steel post
supporting the ramp on the other end failed to support the whole weight
of the ramp being repaired and retrofitted with anti-pirate plate.

Sample of frayed steel cables that brought about the fall of tons of steel tower post and ramp. (Photo courtesy of DOLE / bulatlat.com)

- Unbalanced, the steel post teetered and fell, bringing the ramp down with it, and an anti-pirate plate to be fitted on it.

(The Zambales police reported that a “crane” used to carry the
anti-pirate plate fell on the cables, causing it to snap. But Fernando
San Juan, witness and father of Mark San Juan who died during the
accident said the “crane” was not yet near the ramp area when the cables
snapped. The police attributed their “error” to the lack of engineering
experts among them and to the fact that many things at the site had
been shifted around and “tampered with” before they arrived. Senator
Estrada told the police to interview the witnesses.)

- The steel post crushed the workers who were working under the ramp. Other workers who were working on the ramp slid and fell..... MORE

10/20/2011
Government forces and Muslim
rebels which figured in a deadly clash that left at least 19 soldiers
dead gave conflicting claims on which side started the firefight with
the military accusing the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) of
shielding terrorists that government forces tried to serve warrants of
arrest on and the MILF claiming that government troops initiated the
violent confrontation after they attacked a rebel camp near the town of
Al-Barka.

Col. Tony Parlade, spokesman for the Philippine Army,
accused the MILF of not only shielding its “terrorist criminal
comrades” but also sending reinforcements that triggered a 10-hour
fierce gun battle with government troops.

The military also
accused the MILF of “murdering” six soldiers who were taken captive and
earlier declared missing during a clash on Basilan island in which at
least 13 other troops died..... MORE

10/20/2011
A committee of the House of
Representatives is set to reopen its investigation into the
controversial P10-billion Poverty Eradication and Alleviation
Certificate (PEACe) bonds that was engineered by Caucus of Development
NGO Networks (Code-NGO), a group formerly headed by Social Welfare
Sec-retary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman, which floated the zero-coupon bonds
in a bid to determine those responsible for the loans extended to the
government in 2001.

Iloilo Rep. Jerry Treñas, chairman of the
House committee on good government and public accountability, yesterday
said the panel will resume its hearing on the controversy when Congress resumes sessions on Nov. 14.

Trenas
explained that the reopening of the inquiry was an offshoot of the
request made by the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) which complained
the huge obligations that the government will be paying for the maturing
bonds..... MORE

By Virgilio J. Bugaoisan 10/20/2011
Even
without the benefit of any formal investigation, Malacañang expectedly
cleared on a basis of a blanket denial, Presidential Adviser on the
Peace Process Teresita “Ging” Deles on her alleged involvement in
elec-toral fraud during the 2004 presidential elections.

While
deputy presidential spokesman Abigail Valte was absolutely certain in
declaring the innocence of Deles, even saying that the witness was lying
about the role of Deles in the 2004 poll fraud, she could not say the
same thing about the other allegations made by Datu Haj Ansari Alonto on
the fraud commited, intimating that the other state-ments made were
credible.

Alonto testified before the before
the Senate that President Aquino’s peace adviser had helped former
President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo campaign, using
public fund as well as engage in cheating operations..... MORE

10/20/2011
The government said yesterday
it had seized 25 small Chinese boats after its navy confronted a larger
fishing vessel in disputed South China Sea waters.

On Tuesday’s
encounter followed a series of incidents between the two nations in the
strategically vital South China Sea this year that have led to a spike
in diplomatic tensions.

Government authorities said the bigger
Chinese vessel was towing the 25 wooden, motorised dinghies near Reed
Bank, an atoll just 150 kilometers (90 miles) from the western
Philippine island of Palawan..... MORE

Sen.
Francis “Chiz” Escudero is firm in his resolve in pursuing his filed
resolution that would acknowledge late movie icon Fernando Poe Jr. as
the 15th President or the rightful winner during the 2004 polls.

The
matter is dependent on whatever outcome or evidence that will be
gathered by the joint Department of Justice-Commission on Elections
(DoJ-Comelec) panel as well as the Senate committee for looking into the
alleged massive cheating in the 2004 polls.

“It’s (Resolution No.
543) is aimed at setting the record and correcting the country’s
history,” he said in an interview with reporters.

If in the event
that evidence would prove that Poe was the rightful winner in the 2004
presidential race, it doesn’t mean that whatever decisions or moves
taken by former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo would be
declared illegal..... MORE

Metropolitan
Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino
announced yesterday the motorcycle lanes along Commonwealth Avenue in
Quezon City and Macapagal Avenue in Pasay and Parañaque will be called
“Blue Lanes.”

“Our men worked feverishly, round the clock to paint
the lanes blue so that they could be easily identified,” the MMDA chief
explained.

Effective Oct. 17, non-exclusive motorcycle lanes were
designated on the two major thoroughfares: For Commonwealth, the fourth
lane from the curb, and for Macapagal, the first. Motorcycle riders are
also required to observe a 60-kph speed limit.

For now, violators
will not be issued traffic tickets but are required to undergo a
15-minute seminar at designated spots along the thoroughfares. A special
sticker is given to a rider who completes the seminar that could be
attached to his motorcycle..... MORE